International Workers’ Day in Chile

As a reporter for The Santiago Times for the four months in 2012, I had the opportunity of attending many of the marches and protests in the capital here in Chile. These are a few photos from May 1 which is International Workers’ Day worldwide.

The march, a family event, started off peacefully but soon descended into chaos with protesters hurling glass bottles, metal barriers and paint bombs at police who responded with tear gas and water cannons. Encapuchados, hooded and usually young hooligans keen to escalate the violence at public gatherings, set a local bank on fire. Over a hundred people were arrested.